The shields were the problem, she soon realized.
Maybe it was nothing for her and Eithan to fight twelve men, and the acolytes didn’t seem particularly skilled at fighting, but the sun-taken shields were a problem. They were huge, and they all had them. She was running herself ragged and all of the acolytes were still standing.
She couldn’t spare a look for Eithan to see what he was doing. She didn’t have that luxury. She had to concentrate entirely on blocking every spear that was coming for her neck.
She fought on, surrounded by men, even though all she seemed to be able to make out were those huge shields. She couldn’t think. She didn’t have that luxury either.
One of the things she liked about fighting, after all, was that it was down to pure instinct. Her training came back, and her body knew how to move. The physicality was freedom and euphoria.
But she was losing.
She was tiring.
And she needed to think of something to—
Pain.
A spear in her gut.
She grunted, going down on one knee. Gasping, she pulled it out and threw it to the ground. They were all coming for her, the spears closing in—and she lit up, turning on her light, which burst out of her wound bright and hot and blinding.
The acolytes were startled and they stopped.
She was on her feet, swinging her sword, moving quickly—she could be quick, she could be like lightning. Four of them down, too stunned by the light to react, to move their spears.
They crumpled, dazed expressions still on their faces, and that left her with two.
She screamed at them. She’d had to drop her dagger to pull out the spear, but she was still armed. She threw herself at them.
Her sword clattered against one shield, but the fingers over her other hand were closing around the acolyte’s spear.
She tugged on his spear.
He wasn’t expecting it, and he didn’t resist.
She swung the spear sideways, taking out the other acolyte.
The spear came out of his flesh with a wet sound.
Nicce turned on the remaining acolyte.
Who ran, dropping his shield behind him.
She watched him, shrugging. Well, all right then. She turned to find Eithan the lone man standing. There was a bleeding cut just under his cheekbone. He was out of breath. He touched his face and surveyed the black blood on his fingers. “Thanks for the light,” he panted. “If I hadn’t had the distraction, I don’t know what I was going to do.”
She nodded, also out of breath. “I wish I could say I thought of it on my own, but I got stabbed and had to heal.” She fished her dagger up off the ground and tucked it into the scabbard on her thigh. “Those shields.” She shook her head.
“Godstaken shields,” muttered Eithan, sheathing his sword.
Together, they picked their way over the fallen bodies to climb through the portal.
* * *
Nicce wasn’t sure what they’d find when they arrived at the Guild. They got there quickly enough, because they took horses that were kept in a stable outside the forest for the use of the Knights of Midian. Eithan explained the horses were looked after by grooms from Castle Brinne, and when he said that, they both craned their necks up the mountain, where they could see the far off tower of the castle, where King Timon lived and where Sullo had gone.
Nicce thought of the king’s five young sons, and she hoped Sullo wouldn’t hurt the princes.
They galloped off.
They took to the roads and traveled away from the castle, southwest, the dark forest at their back.
They didn’t stop until they reached the Guild keep. They arrived at the gates. The wall surrounded the sprawling structure in all directions. They dismounted to speak to the guards who stood there.
There was no resistance.
“More Knights of Midian,” said one of them, whose name was Jame. Nicce knew him. “I know the Guild takes in anyone left at its gates, but how many of you are coming?”
“That’s the last one,” said the other guard. His name was Rhon. Nicce knew him too. “There are only five.”
“If Diakos were still here—”
“Well, he’s not,” snapped Nicce.
They both turned on her.
“We don’t want to hurt you,” said Eithan. “You’d best simply let us in.”
The guards sneered at Eithan and Nicce, but they let them in, and they sent someone to announce their presence.
The gates opened onto the courtyard, and Nicce looked around, remembering all the times she’d practiced here, all the times she’d been punished for not performing up to expectations, running while others threw spears at her, plucking out a dagger buried in her thigh in order to keep fighting, the way her lungs would scream at her when she was at the edge of what her body could bear, when she pushed herself past that edge because she had to.
She swallowed.
She didn’t have a lot of great memories about this place.
Jennix appeared at the other end of the courtyard. She headed the Guild now, something that Eithan had been instrumental in setting up the last time he was there. He’d killed her only competition.
She strode across the courtyard, looking almost happy to see them.
She shook hands with both of them, greeting them with what passed for warmth for Jennix, and Nicce thought of the time she’d sneaked into the Guild to get her sword back (rescuing Eithan had been a secondary motive, and anyway, he’d rescued himself). She thought of fighting Jennix, her throwing knives against Jennix’s sword.
Jennix might be cooperative now, but that didn’t mean Nicce trusted her.
“They’ve all been waiting for you,” said Jennix. “I suppose you’d like to see them.”
“The other knights?” said Eithan.
“And the two women, and the children, and the little girl’s grandmother. I gave them an entire wing. We have a lot of empty rooms since you killed three quarters of the assassins here.”
“Have I apologized for that?” said Eithan, who didn’t sound sorry.
Jennix shrugged. “If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t be the Guildmaster, would I? No need for apologies.” She started walking. “Follow me.”
“We, um, we do want to see everyone, of course,” Nicce said, falling into step with Jennix. “But we actually came to ask about jewels again.”
“More jewels?” said Jennix. “Well, you’re in luck, then, because the man I buy from will be coming through tomorrow morning.”
“You buy them from a man?” said Nicce. “Where does he get them?”
“There are jewel gatherers who go out looking for them,” said Jennix. “They’re scattered all over Kemulia.”
“Really,” said Eithan thoughtfully. “Maybe that jackhole is smarter than we give him credit for. Maybe he really is splitting and scattering his crystals.”
“Who?” said Jennix.
“Sullo,” said Nicce.
“As in the god to whom this Guild is consecrated?” said Jennix. “The Sullo? Are you going to try to kill him too?”
“Gods need killing,” Nicce said with a little shrug.
Jennix came to a stop. “Is he after you? Following you?”
“No,” said Eithan. “He doesn’t know where we are. Don’t worry. We won’t be long. As soon as we have the jewels, we’ll take the fight to him.”
Nicce didn’t mention that after Sullo was dead, the other gods would most certainly be coming after her and Eithan, but she supposed it didn’t matter. She and Eithan would hardly take refuge here at the Guild.
Jennix started walking again.
She led them to the wing where the others were staying.
The hallway was narrow, and the rooms were small. All of them were open and people spilled into the hallways.
The first person to recognize them was Absalom, whose handsome face broke into a grin as he hurried over to them. He pulled Nicce into an embrace, saying she looked lovely, even tho
ugh she was a little worse for wear from the fight with acolytes, and then he hugged Eithan.
After that, Eithan was assailed by embraces. Jonas and Philo were there, both exclaiming how good it was to see him, and little Lian leaped up into Eithan’s arms. Eithan and Septimus didn’t embrace, but Septimus was smiling at him and he didn’t make any rude comments or talk about cutting anyone, which was miraculous for Septimus.
No one else hugged Nicce. She hung back, eyeing Xenia, who was holding a small girl with blond ringlets. Revel was with her and so was an older woman that must be Xenia’s mother. Xenia didn’t hug Eithan either. She was smiling though, and she didn’t stop smiling when she looked at Nicce.
It wasn’t a declaration of friendship, but it was something.
Boisterous greetings and conversation eventually gave way to Eithan explaining to them what had happened.
No one was pleased about the idea of Sullo.
“We’ll come with you,” said Absalom, nodding to the other knights. “You might need us.”
“We were of assistance with Ciaska,” said Jonas. “You ended up needing the distraction.”
“No,” said Eithan. “I want you all gone. Tomorrow, you go to the coast and board a ship. Nicce and I will follow as soon as we can. We’ll find you there. I want you as far away from the gods as possible.”
“And Lian needs your protection,” said Nicce. “It’s what you all wanted, isn’t it? To escape with him?”
Absalom surveyed Eithan and Nicce. “Well… I wouldn’t want to leave Eithan behind, but he’s not exactly alone, is he?”
Eithan laughed. He put his arm around Nicce. “We’re fearless god killers now, the two of us.”
Everyone laughed.
“If it’s what you want, old friend,” said Absalom.
“I’ll find you,” said Eithan.
So, it was decided. Xenia, Revel, and Xenia’s family were welcome to come along, of course, and they said they would. Xenia didn’t want to tangle with the gods anymore, and if she had a chance to be free, she would take it. She was only saddened that she hadn’t been able to convince her brother to leave the Conclave.
The Conclave were priests consecrated to Ciaska. Her brother had apparently not taken well to the idea that she’d assisted in the killing of his goddess. He was in denial that the goddess was dead at all, of course. Her brother would stay behind.
Nicce and Eithan were given two rooms to sleep in, because the beds at the Guild were narrow, not big enough for two people to share, though Xenia and Revel had apparently simply pulled two together. Nicce and Eithan wouldn’t be here long enough for that.
It was late, and the day ahead promised to be full. The only intelligent thing to do now would be to rest. Everyone went into their rooms, and Nicce went into hers, too. She sat down on her bed and tried to convince herself to lie down.
For some reason, she couldn’t.
She got up, crossed to the door, and pushed it open. She went walking through the Guild, walking through the corridors, thinking about this place where she’d grown up, this place that should be home but wasn’t. Had never been home.
I don’t have a home, she thought, standing in the corner of the courtyard.
It was dark. The sky was full of stars.
She thought of a time not so long ago, when she was squaring off with Eithan in this courtyard. How he’d begged her to come with him, how she’d refused, how Rhodes had appeared and whisked her away.
Tears sprang to her eyes. Hastily, she wiped them away. She didn’t want any members of the Guild to see her cry. There was no one here, no one to see her, but she knew better than to cry in this place.
Movement.
Behind her.
She whirled, pulling out her sword, maybe because she’d been crying, maybe because she felt the need to prove how tough she was.
It was Eithan.
She sheathed her sword. “You shouldn’t sneak up on me.”
“I was thinking we can both fit on one of those beds,” he said.
She laughed a little.
“We always sleep close, anyway,” he said. “And I want to be near you. I always want to be near you.”
She walked into his body and put her forehead against his shoulder.
One of his arms came up to rest on her hip, holding her there.
“I was thinking about this place,” she said softly, her voice muffled against his clothes. “I was born here. My mother…” That send a bolt of rage through her, like back at the court, when she’d shattered the bottle of wine. She raised her face to look at him.
His lips parted. “What about your mother?” he murmured. “You said once it was a very disgusting story, and that it wasn’t my business. I guess I’m not asking you to tell me it now if you don’t want to.”
She swallowed. She pulled away from him and looked back at the dark courtyard. “My mother had some kind of… relationship with Sullo.”
“I remember him saying he sent her away,” said Eithan. “I paid attention to that conversation. I could see how angry you were.”
Nicce rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know who is responsible for what was done to her. Rhodes said that Diakos wanted the power of a god infused into me so that I could kill you, and that he forced my mother into a ritual that summoned Sullo. Diakos said it was all my mother’s idea, because she wanted Sullo back. And Sullo said…” Her voice wasn’t strong now.
Eithan reached for her and then seemed to think better of it. He retracted his hand.
“It doesn’t matter,” Nicce said dully. “Whatever the case, she didn’t fight. She let them use her like that. She didn’t try to stop it. She was stupid and weak, and I hate her.” The words made something in her wrench.
Eithan’s voice was like dark water. “Because you’d never let that happen to yourself. Because you’d die instead.”
She turned to look at him.
His features were shadowed.
“I don’t know why I’m thinking about this,” she said briskly. “It’s this stupid place, I guess. It should be my home, but I hate it here. All I ever did here was train. I gave them everything I had, and it was never enough. They wanted me to be a perfect bride, so whatever they did to me, they made sure never to leave marks, but…”
“You stayed,” said Eithan, stepping up to stand next to her. “They made you strong, and you could have fought them. You could have escaped, but you stayed. And when they sent you after me, you went. You did their bidding. You were theirs.”
“No.” Rage was rising again. “Why would you say that? I didn’t do what they wanted. I didn’t kill you.”
“No,” said Eithan, taking her hand. “You didn’t. In the end, you weren’t theirs. But you can’t blame yourself for the times when you were.”
“I wasn’t.”
“What does it cost you if you admit they hurt you?” he said. “What does it cost you if you admit they hurt your mother?”
She ripped her hand away from his. “I don’t want to talk about this.”
“All right,” he said softly.
She took several steps into the courtyard. She craned her neck up to look at the stars. She tried to hold onto her rage, but the tears were coming back. “You won’t admit to being hurt either.” Her voice cracked.
“Right,” he said, and his voice didn’t sound strong either.
She clenched her hands into fists. She could hardly see him now. He’d retreated, and the shadows had swallowed him up. “We’re both fine.”
“We’re not,” said Eithan.
Her lower lip trembled.
“If it wasn’t your mother’s fault, then she’s a victim. And if she’s a victim, then you’re a victim. And if you’re a vict—”
“I’m not a victim.”
“It doesn’t make you weak to admit that they hurt you,” he said. And then his voice cracked. “And it doesn’t insult Absalom and the others to admit that bitch Ciaska destroyed me.”
She went to
him then. She put her arms around him.
His arms came around her too.
They clung to each other.
Her face was wet. But maybe his was too.
And then there was noise, from outside the gate, the sound of approaching horses, and they let go of each other to go and investigate.
CHAPTER SIX
Eithan held Nicce’s hand while they moved closer to the gate so that they could see what was going on. The gate was opening, and a vast group of people were coming in. Horses and carriages were being taken around to the stables. There were guards, and Eithan recognized their uniforms. Those were royal guards, from Castle Brinne.
It was King Timon and the Rabian court. They’d come to the Guild to hide from Sullo.
King Timon had survived.
Eithan wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He should probably feel guilty about setting Sullo on an innocent man, but he supposed he didn’t think of Timon as innocent, not exactly, not when Nicce had described him as trying to take advantage of her. Maybe Timon hadn’t succeeded, but Eithan was fairly sure that was down to Nicce, not because of any nobility on the king’s part.
Anyway, a hundred years of carrying out Ciaska’s bidding had done a lot to blunt his guilt. Maybe it meant he had lost some of his humanity, but then he wasn’t really human anymore, was he?
He glanced at Nicce, and a host of thoughts swam through his head, all the reasons he didn’t deserve her, all the reasons he might not even be good for her. But she cared about him, and he wouldn’t hurt her worse by trying to leave. For better or worse, it was done. They were together. His fingers tightened around hers, and he drew in a shaky breath.
She squeezed back.
They stayed to the periphery and watched while everything was sorted out. Jennix didn’t seem pleased that the king had sought sanctuary there, but she had no choice. She couldn’t deny the monarch, of course. She was even less pleased when she knew that Sullo was after King Timon, and she shot a glance in Eithan’s direction that could only be termed murderous.
As to how Timon had escaped, details were sparse. As to whether Sullo was following him, no one seemed to know that either.
Eithan wasn’t going to underestimate the god, however, so he went straight to the wing where the knights were sleeping and woke everyone up. He told Absalom that they needed to leave now. Upon hearing the details of the situation, Absalom agreed. Everyone dressed and gathered their few belongings, which they’d packed the night before.
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